Fire-escape



2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

(No Mdel.)

- W. M. TOMPKINS.

PIRE ESCAPE.

Patented Mar. 27 1888'.

Fay. 1

I ./ttorney ITJVESSES,

(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet W. M. TOMPKINS;

PIRE. ESCAPE.

No. 888,808. Patented Mar. 27, 1888.

m w W.

UNITED STATES PATENT Eric.

VILLIAM MORTON TOMPKINS, OF BATAVIA, NEV YORK.

FIRE-ESCAPE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N0.380,303, dated March 27,1888.

Application filed September 7, 1887. Serial No. 249,025. (No model.)

To @ZZ wzcmn it may concern.'

Beit known that LWILLIAM MoRToN ToMr- KINs, of Bata-via, in the countyof Genesee and State of New York, have invented certain new and usefulImprovementsinFireEscapes; and l do hereby declare that the following isa full, clear, and exact description of the invention, which will enableothers skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use thesame, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to theletters of reference marked thereon, which form part of thisspecification.

My invention relates to an improvement in fire-escapes.

The object of my invention is to improve the construction, and hence theoperation, of those fire-escapes heretofore in use, which consist of aseries of horizontal shafts operating in the upper portion of a buildingand having ropes or ladders secured thereon and extending down theoutside of the building, said shafts being connected by bevel-gearingand operated by means of belting or shafts; and with these ends iu viewmy invention consists in certain novel features of construction andcombinations of parts, more fully described hereinafter, and pointed outin the claims. Y

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a vertical section of a building having myinvention applied thereto. Fig. 2 is a horizontal section of the saineon the line :c w, Fig. l. Figs. 3, 4, 5, and 6 are enlarged details ofmy invention.

Similar letters of reference indicate similar parts in the respectivefigures.

A is a building, in the upper part of which are horizontal shafts B, B',B2, and B3, mounted in bearings IJ, which are secured to the inner wallsof the building. Each of these shafts is provided with aseries of reels,C, on which the ropes c are adapted to be wound, as will be more fullydescribed hereinafter. The shafts A B and B are provided with beveledgears b at each end, and the shafts B2 and B3 are provided with beveledgears at one end only. These gears are adapted to engage, as shown, andit is clear that when the shaft B is revolved the shafts B', B2, and B3will also be revolved by means of the beveled gears.

D is a vertical shaft having a bearing or step at its lower end, d, inthe door of the building, (see Fig. 5,) and being provided at its upperend with a beveled gear, di, which engages Awith another beveled gear,b2, secured on the shaft B. The shaft D passes through all the floors ofthe building between the bottom and top, and is thus securely held inposition. Near its lower end the shaft D is provided with a beveledgear, E, which engages with another beveled gear, F, on a shaft, f,mounted in a frame,G. Theshaftf is provided with a crank, f', and aratchet-wheel, f2. A pawl, f3, is hung on the frame G, and is adapted toengage with the teeth ofthe ratchet-wheel.

H H represent tubes, which are fixed in the walls of the buildingopposite each of the reels C. Each tube is slotted at the under side ofits outer end at 7i to receive the pulley h', which has bearings in thetube. The ropes c, which are of equal length and have one end securelyfastened to the reels G, pass through the tubes H, over the pulleys h,and extend as near the ground as may be necessary. Each-rope is providedwith a weight, c', at its free end.

I is a friction-brake operated by hand and adapted to close against theshaft D to regulate the speed with which the weighted ropes are lowered.

The operation is as follows: Supposing the ropes c to be in the positionshown in Fig. l, if the crank f is turned the shaft D will be rotated,and through the medium of the beveled gears di, b2, and b will revolvethe shafts B, B', B2, and B3, and thus wind the ropes c on the reels Cuntil the weights c' are raised to the tubes H, as shown in dottedlines, Fig. 3. The ropes will then be in their normal position and willbe held in such position by means of the rafchet-and-pawl mechanism f2 f3. When it is desired to lower the ropes, all it is necessary to do isto lift the pawl f3 out of engagement with the ratchetwheel f2, when theweights c will cause the ropes c to unwind simultaneously and descendtoward the ground, the speed of the descent being regulated by means ofthe frictionbrake I. It is designed to have the ropes so arranged as tocome in front of and sufficiently near to the windows ofthe building asto enable a person to grasp the rope from the window and slide to thebottom.

It is obvious that the series of horizontal shafts could be extendedinto the wings of a IOO building, if necessary, and all be operatedsimultaneously by means of the beveled gears on their ends.

Having thus fully described my invention, What I claim, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent of the United States, is-

l. A series of horizontal shafts geared together, as described, andbeing provided with a series of reels to which ropes are secured,combined with a building having a series of tubes extending through thewalls of the building, said tubes being provided with pulleys over whichsaid ropes pass, substantially as described.

2. A series of horizontal shafts geared together, as described, and aseries of reels to which ropes are secured mounted upon the shafts,combined with a building, a series of tubes extending through the wallsof the building and provided with longitudinal slots in the lowerportion of the peripheries of their outer ends, and pulleys journaled atthe slots in said tubes and over which the ropes pass, substantially asdescribed.

3. In combination with a building, a series of horizontal shafts havingbevel-gears on th ei r ends adapted to engage with each other, a seriesof reels on said shafts, ropes wound on said reels, tubes locatedopposite each reel and eX- tending through the Wall of the building,said ropes passing through the tubes, and a vertical shaft having abeveled gear on its upper end adapted to engage With a bevelgear on oneof the horizontal shafts, substantially as described 4. In combinationwith a building, a series of horizontal shafts jonrnaled in the upperportion of said building, a series of ropes secured to saidshafts and tobe wound thereon, and a series of tubes extending through the walls ofthe building opposite each rope, for the purpose specified.

5. The herein-described fire-escape, consisting, essentially, in thecombination of abuilding, a series of horizontal shafts, bevel-gearsupon the ends of said shafts to mesh with each other, a series of reelsmounted upon said shafts, tubes extending through the walls of thebuilding opposite each reel, pulleys journaled in the outer ends of saidtubes, Weighted ropes wound upon said reels, and passing through thetubes and operating over the pulleys, a vertical shaft provided with abevelgear upon its upper end to mesh with abevelgear upon one of thehorizontal shafts, abevelgear upon the lower portion of the verticalshaft, a horizontal shaft provided with a crank at one end and abevel-gear to mesh withthe lower bevel-gear upon the vertical shaft, aratchet-and-pawl mechanism, and a frictionbrake, as specified.

In testimony thatI claim the foregoing as my own I afx my signature inpresence of two witnesses.

VILLIAM MOR'ION TOMPKINS.

Witnesses:

GEORGE H. HOLDEN, CARLOS A. HULL.

